This Hairstylist’s Battle To Love Her Hair

Everyone has hair, but not everyone has the same relationship with it. For some people, their hair is their pride and joy, and for others it’s just another one of those things. Let’s talk about it.

For this Hairstory, we profiled Los Angeles hairstylist Jessica Warburton (you may know her as hairhunter on the ‘gram!): color expert, cancer survivor and all around badass.

Tell us a little bit about your hair? Is it your baby or just a thing on top of your head?

I think we as a society define ourselves heavily by how we look. My hair is definitely a part of that. As a cancer survivor, I keep most of my head shaved. I really want other women to see that you don't have to have super thick, super long hair to be considered pretty. Beauty is truly subjective, so for every one person who doesn't like the way another person looks, 20 people will love the way that person looks.

What’s your relationship with your hair? Has it always been your fave or has it been hard to love?

When I was a kid, I wanted curly ringlets so terribly bad. I HATED my stick straight hair. I took my great grandma's hot rollers and would roll my hair in them, then brush it out. It was a big, frizzy mess. I got made fun of a lot so finally my mom permed my hair for me. I didn't learn to really love my hair until my senior year of high school when I cut it all off. My shorter style gave me so much confidence and I finally felt pretty for the first time.

What’s your go-to hairstyle?

I love doing beachy waves on people. They always look fabulous in a photo, and I'm terrible at braiding. On myself, I really like to give the Mohawk part some tousled texture. Sometimes I'll wear fun clips in it. I have one clip that has a little coffin and a black and white striped bow. It's probably my favorite clip.

Hair fear?

I think my biggest hair fear is going gray. I found my first gray hair when I was 23, and I cried. I guess that now I can say I've been through worse so not much really scares me anymore. Once you have been completely bald and not by choice, nothing else can be worse.

Who is your hair crush?

If we are talking celebs, I have always loved Jennifer Aniston's hair. She is such a classic beauty and her hair in my opinion will always be timeless. As for stylists, I really love the work Johnny Ramirez does. It's absolutely flawless.

What’s your maintenance routine?

I don't always have a lot of time to maintain my hair so I usually do it myself. (Which I do NOT recommend to anyone – haha!) I shampoo it once a week and try to shave the sides up every two weeks.

How does your hair impact the way you view yourself? Does it make you feel more confident or beautiful?

My hair can make me feel confident, sexy and beautiful but it also has the ability to make me feel hideous. I always make sure I have enough time to style it in some fashion. I firmly believe that if a person feels like they look good, then they will also feel better.

Tell me about a time you did something to your hair you regret.

I once let a hairdresser use my head as a model. I had black color in it at the time. She lightened my hair five times in one day and my scalp was so sore. I had also asked her not to use yellow color because it is incredibly unflattering on me. She, of course, used yellow. I hated it. I still hate it when I see photos of it.

Craziest hair story (wild dye job, crazy undercut, etc.)

Several years ago, right after I got my cosmetology license, I got this grand idea to lighten my own hair and color it with a Coral. I did such a terrible job on myself that it looked like I had leopard spots on the back and sides. In the areas where the coral toned, it looked like I had bald patches. Needless to say, I immediately went over it with black and never tried to lighten my own hair ever again.